1/6 Roundup: Outsider Insider, Getting a Seat, Kitty Plague

Leader: Outsider Insider

- Word leaked that President-elect Obama would choose former congressman and Clinton Chief of Staff Leon Panetta to serve as his director of the CIA. The choice was a surprise, to say the least, and reactions have been as impassioned as they have been varied.  The primary bone of contention is that Panetta has no direct experience in intelligence, and will be heading an agency that prefers to be lead by its own.  Spooks prefer spooks. Laura Rozen at the Cable has a good rundown of reactions from both sides.

- Some, such as Robert Baer at Time, have argued that Panetta's outsiderness will be an advantage. The CIA was a political tool under President Bush, he says, and having a chief who knows the ins and outs of Washington as well as anyone can only be a boon for the Agency. 

- What's more, Panetta is an experienced and proven manager, and as Marc Ambinder points out, he'll have a massive human resources problem on his hands as soon as he arrives.

Politics

- As the Senate is sworn in today, the future of two prospective Senators is still cloudy.  Roland Burris, "Crooked" Rod Blagojevich's choice to replace Obama, is wondering if he can get seated without the signature of the Illinois Secretary of State, the approval of the State Legislature, or the support of many Senate Democrats.  

- Al Franken, likewise, who was finally declared victor in Minnesota yesterday, will face delays as Norm Coleman initiates a legal challenge to Franken's narrow victory. 

- Eve Fairbanks has an interesting piece in TNR on the curious placidity of right-wing Republicans these days.

- Are you new to the House? A first-time Congressperson? Politico throws you a bone with "7 habits of highly effective Freshmen."

Economy

- PEBO worked the Hill yesterday, and did his best to convince
skeptical Republicans that they, too would have a voice in crafting the
stimulus plan. Obama is hoping to have a bill ready for his signature by late January or early February, and wants Congress to get cracking.

- Everyone's in a tizzy over Steve Jobs's choice to sit out this year's MacWorld Expo. Rumors that his health is in decline-- perhaps a recurrence of pancreatic cancer-- have driven Apple's stock price down, and worried investors and Mac fans alike. Jobs's explanation yesterday of his obvious weight loss were not particularly reassuring.

International

- Ten days in, the Israeli Defense Forces continue to push into Gaza, taking control of several high rise buildings in Gaza City. According the WaPo, more than 40 people were killed yesterday, nearly half of whom were children. Calls by European leaders to end the incursion have gone unheeded in Jerusalem.

- The Windy reports on Obama's push to shift US policy toward Cuba.  NDN has long argued for a new, more enlightened approach to our island neighbor, including the easing of travel and remittance restrictions on Cuban families, and we're pleased to see Obama taking this stance.

One More Thing

- Just a month after the Clintons' cat Socks was reported to be terminally ill with cancer, the Bushes' cat India (AKA Willie; AKA Kitty) has bought the farm. 

- In what some travelers might see as divine retribution, the new, blue uniforms worn by TSA employees are reportedly causing horrible skin rashes and otherwise making the officers ill.

- Did you hear about the man who accidentally bought Joe Biden's cufflinks at a thrift store?

- Last, TPM does a little video on the debate between the five men running for chairmanship of the RNC.  For center-lefties, it's deeply reassuring: